Answered By: Nancy Alzo

Last Updated: Aug 31, 2017Views: 58

Primary sources are original materials such as an artifact, a document, a recording – essentially something created at the time that you are studying that has not been filtered through another scholar’s interpretive lens.

Different subject areas have varying definitions of what constitutes a primary source so you need to follow your instructor’s definition or guidelines. What is available to you as an undergraduate researcher here at SUNY Potsdam may determine the context in which you search for a primary source.